Boy, 12, suffers fractured skull in seesaw fall

A BOY aged 12 suffered horrific injuries after he fell off a rotating seesaw fracturing his skull and suffering a blood clot in his brain.

Football fan Reece Geisler went to the Fern Lea playground in Huddersfield with five friends after training when an accident occurred.

Reece and a friend climbed aboard the modern seesaw, put in when the council upgraded the playground in February 2009, and laughed as they bounced and spun around.

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But minutes into the ride, Reece lost his grip and fell off, missing the rubber safety matting and hitting his head on the concrete edging of the play area. He was taken by ambulance to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where a CT scan showed he had fractured his skull and had a bleed on his brain.

He had also fractured his right eye socket. He was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, for major brain surgery, lasting three-and-a-half hours and resulting in 30 stitches.

His parents, George, 57, and Debbie Geisler, 51, of Lindley, both civil servants, said they were scared he would not survive his injuries.

Mrs Geisler said: "We were so shocked. You just never think something like this is going to happen – for a while we didn't know if he would live or die.

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"We were so anxious waiting for him to come out of theatre too and are just glad he is now on the road to recovery."

Neurosurgeons had to pin Reece's skull back together after it was fractured in several places, and insert metal plates which he will now have for the rest of his life.

He has also suffered double vision and is undergoing further tests to assess the extent of damage to his eyes.

He has been discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home.

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Reece said: "I can't remember a lot of it, I remember losing my grip and coming off and hitting my head.

"I can remember the ambulance, the spinal board and neck brace and being sick but once I got to hospital I was given morphine and don't remember anything else.

"When I woke up in hospital my dad said to me, 'I'll tell you one thing son you have a new hair cut'.

"It's strange knowing I had a bleed on my brain. It could have been fatal or I could have had brain damage."

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He is upset he cannot play rugby or football for three to six months.

Now his parents are calling on Kirklees Council, which manages Fern Lea playground, to remove the seesaw until an investigation is completed.

Mr Geisler has already met with council officials at the site to discuss his concerns.

He said: "I'm sure it has been risk assessed but there is something quite wrong.

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"The contraption has no safety features to it and where it is positioned is too near to the concrete edge of the play area – and it is a sharp edge to fall on."

A Kirklees Council spokesman said: "We are very concerned to hear about the injuries to Reece Geisler and we hope that he makes a full recovery."

The spokesman said following a visit to the site no defects had been found with the piece of play equipment or the safety surfacing and the overall condition of the site was satisfactory.